Final Fantasy Digital Card Game announced for PC, but so far only in Japan

It's due out this year.

Final Fantasy Digital Card Game is, you will be shocked to discover, a digital CCG inspired by the JRPG romps. It is not, lamentably, Triple Triad, otherwise known as Final Fantasy’s most important contribution to the realm of minigames. It’s due out in Japan in 2019, starting with a beta test this month, but Square Enix is yet to announce versions for other regions.

The grid briefly made me think I was looking at a Triple Triad spin-off, but it sounds pretty different. Players duke it out in turn-based battles where you have to build up a hand of Final Fantasy characters, monsters and summons, placing them on a grid while trying to predict where the opposing player is going to move.

Pixelated monsters and heroes pop up when you place them on the grid, and combined with the castle backdrop, it looks like a cute, 16-bit diorama. The aesthetic is from the SNES games, but characters and beasties from across the whole series will be available.

It's worth pointing out that Final Fantasy already has a physical card game. I've reached out to Square Enix to see if there are any plans for a release outside of Japan.